Legislation

Certain financial institutions will be exempt from having to send customers annual privacy notices as a result of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) recently finalized rule amending Regulation P per updates to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act approved in December 2015. 

To be exempt, an institution must meet two conditions regarding the types of entities with which it shares customer information and whether it has changed its disclosure policies.

Find out more about what institutions qualify for the exemption.  

President Donald Trump recently signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2019, which excludes a provision opposed by credit union advocates who argued it would have put credit unions at a disadvantage.

Banking advocates wrote to congressional leaders arguing that the provision would help provide military members more suitable options for their financial needs and increase fairness in the military marketplace. 

Find out more details about the controversial provision.

Asserting that the Dodd-Frank Act does not expressly authorize the agency to examine financial companies for Military Lending Act (MLA) violations, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) acting director Mick Mulvaney recently decided to suspend supervisory activities related to the law.

Bureau spokesman John Czwartacki said Mulvaney reached his decision after a thorough review of the agency’s procedures intended to curb what the Trump administration and many financial industry professionals considered overly aggressive enforcement activities.

Find out more about what the decision means for the future of the law’s enforcement.

Siding with certain banking trade groups, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service recently proposed rules and guidance stipulating that banks qualify for a tax deduction created by the enactment of the 2017 tax reform bill to help small businesses.

Treasury stated that “banking” and “financial services” are separate industries, with financial services qualifying as a specified service trade or business (SSTB), unable to access the 20 percent tax deduction for pass-through entities.

Learn what the distinction could mean for the nearly 2,000 banks registered as pass-through businesses. 

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has been extended through Nov. 30 following  the passage of the latest in a series of congressional bills written to keep the program going. The vote and the bill’s signing came on the day the program was set to expire.

Numerous financial trade organizations long have advocated for a long-term reauthorization plan to avoid future instances where the plan could come dangerously close to lapsing, which could adversely impact the housing market.

Find out what various industry trade associations have to say about the matter.

Among the 32 legislative pieces comprising a substitute amendment to the bipartisan JOBS and Investor Confidence Act, also known as S. 488 and the JOBS Act 3.0, are provisions affecting the regulatory climate in ways that would be beneficial to financial markets, and help small businesses retain capital required to grow.

Those provisions first were introduced in bills H.R. 4292, the Financial Institution Living Will Improvement Act of 2017, and H.R. 4566, the Alleviating Stress Test Burdens to Help Investors Act (Sections 2 and 3).

Find out what Dodd-Frank changes those measures propose and what other provisions are included in the package.

Eight bipartisan bills targeting the Securities and Exchange Commission’s policies regarding investors and investment activity recently received approval from the House Financial Services Committee via voice vote.

The legislative pieces would require changes intended to facilitate regulatory flexibility, small business investment, protecting senior investors, market expansion and corporate transparency to help guard against insider trading.

Find out more information about the legislative measures headed for a full House vote.

For the second time this year and in its history, the American Bankers Association (ABA) announced that it has partnered with two state-level banking associations to produce TV commercials endorsing political officials running in the 2018 midterm elections.

The move is part of ABA’s stated commitment to expanding the banking industry’s political engagement and growing bipartisan, consensus-minded, pro-banking representation in Congress.

Read on for more details about the candidates the group is helping to promote.

Addressing changes to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) enacted by the recent signing of S. 2155 into law, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a statement outlining how the bureau will adjust its policies accordingly.

The law provides partial HMDA exemptions for certain depository institutions and credit unions insured by the federal government.

Find out more details about the bureau’s implementation and guidance plans, scheduled for release later this summer.

The Senate recently voted against a bill that would rescind millions from programs financed by the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. The package proposed to claw back funding previously appropriated to the Capital Magnet Fund and the Bank Enterprise Award program.

Numerous trade groups representing banks and credit unions expressed opposition to an original plan to rescind even more money and reiterated their disapproval regarding the revised version.

Read on to find out more details about the bill and the programs it would have impacted.